


Lazy Heat

by MeanderingWits



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 08:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7567234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeanderingWits/pseuds/MeanderingWits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the summer heat, the best laid plans of mice and Alfreds go awry. But Yao's there, so it isn't so bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lazy Heat

Alfred loved the summer. No more cold! No more having to subsume himself into endless layers of long underwear, sweaters, pants, parkas, gloves, and hats. No more huddling under at least three layers of blankets as he tried to repress the horror stories of his native peoples and the memories of starvation from his first settlers, the bare branches of the trees scratching across his window panes. No more endless piles of snow to shovel.  
  
(Alfred once tried to use a...suspiciously acquired [read: stolen] flamethrower in a last ditch effort to dig out his Maine house during a particularly bad winter. The president was not pleased, to say the least.)  
  
The problem is that nowadays it didn't matter where he was. It was always hot. Before he would studiously try to forget that bit of him located in the southwest and think of cool sea breezes in Maine and Washington. On very bad days, he'd shift his attention north and thank the spirit of William H. Seward that he got Alaska off Russia on the cheap. But even Alaska was sweltering these days.  
  
Yao, sprawled out on the carpet beside him, smacked him with his fan. Alfred barely registered the tap, instead watching the ceiling fan slowly rotate the stale air above them. Say what you would about Yao's patience....Actually, say a lot of what you would about Yao's patience. Yao likely had the least amount of patience out of all the nations in East Asia. (Though Alfred could tell when he was wearing Kiku down -- too many discussions of _Evangelion_ and Asuka vs. Rei can do that. Never mind the time that they tried to figure out what the fuck was _School Days_.)  
  
In a way, Alfred liked that about Yao. Yao was often open about what he thought and what he wanted. Well, when it came to personal matters. Their statuses as nations tended to complicate things beyond the superficial level.  
  
But he didn't want to think about that. About the trade deals. The court cases. The delicate balancing act on the seas. What he wanted was a nice day to be with his boyfriend...  
  
And it was too hot to do much else than loll about like lazy cats at his California home. Outside, the Pacific stretched out like a rippling roll of blue silk. The sky was clear, practically bleached to a pale denim color. The whiteness of the sand made his eyes hurt. Not a single breeze rustled the palms.  
  
The air was muggy and dead.  
  
It was so hot, the seagulls were silent. Was that a bee he was hearing outside the window? More power to 'em. Go bees!  
  
"It just sucks. I had all these plans! And there's nothing better than a picnic on the beach!" Alfred whined.  
  
Yao huffed, but Alfred could have sword he saw a pleased flush across the other man's cheeks. "You don't have to impress me. I've seen everything already."  
  
"But I like impressing you." Yes, he knew he was pouting, as his boss and England liked to point out. But he rarely got to see Yao these days, what with Alfred having to put out fires (and he preferred dealing with the literal wildfires than the political ones, in all honesty) and keeping sane. He hadn't even had the chance to try _Pokemon Go_ yet! It was a damn travesty!  
  
(Tony did say it was fun, though.)  
  
The silence between them was too thick, though. Alfred didn't necessarily like explaining his deeper thoughts to other nations. Keeping things surface-level made things simpler, and it was easier to make friends that way. Because he had to be able to do that. First to show those guys in Europe that he could play the game, but also to try to keep the peace. Saying what you really thought and felt...that made you vulnerable.  
  
Too vulnerable.  
  
He was in no position to weaken himself.  
  
The thing with this thing with Yao was...Yao probably understood that more than anyone. The other nation approached it differently, that was all. Their circumstances required different responses, but it was a chess game that must be played. (Even so, Alfred wondered. It was different with Ivan back in the day. And Yao mentioned more than once how similar the two of them were, beyond their playing styles.)  
  
Yao was also probably one of the few nations in the world who liked food, and different kinds of food at that, like he did. Food tasted better when the person you were eating with was enjoying themselves too.  
  
But fuck it. He could blame the heat. "Impressing you...I don't know. I like being able to show you something new, something you haven't seen before. Because you've seen a lot and if it's something new, that means it's special and it's something special between you and me."  
  
He wouldn't say anything further.  
  
He probably already said too much.  
  
Yao's fan slowed, but then picked up the pace again. Alfred couldn't see his lover's black eyes from where he was. But then he felt a slim, finely boned foot trace his left calf affectionately, and long fingers tugged at his wilting cowlick.  
  
"You....Alfred, you always make things difficult." Yao's tone was tired yet warm.  
  
_Why did their very natures have to make things so hard?_ Alfred tended to think those thoughts when he was around humans for too long. He had asked England and France that, long ago. He asked that of Russia on a night over fifty years ago when things got too close and they could taste radiation in the air as they sipped vodka and purloined whiskey. He asked that of his brother sometimes.  
  
I _t's what we are. Not even your bullheadedness could change that_ , Yao once answered. As Alfred got older and the world grew crazier, he figured the old man was probably right about that.  
  
Heaving a sigh, Alfred flopped to his left side. In a smooth movement, he slipped an arm over Yao's waist and nuzzled into the sensitive spot of flesh between Yao's left ear and jaw. Under his touch, he could feel Yao first stiffen and then relax. Alfred felt comfortable enough to swing his right leg over. Now he was on top, practically straddling Yao's right leg.  
  
He knew how Yao would take this. On another day, Alfred would certainly indulged, probably to Yao's delight.  
  
_However_ , he thought as he put on his best puppy face, _maybe there was still hope for the day yet._  
  
 "...Maybe we can still have the picnic?"  
  
The mood changed dramatically. Yes, Yao was hoping for something different. "No. I am not going outside."  
  
"...Please?"  
  
"No. And get off me, you are too hot, you big child!" Alfred refrained from saying that it was Yao, not him, who initiated body contact In the first place. "Do you have any ice cream? You must have ice cream."  
  
"Okay, okay! Demanding old man..."  
  
There wasn't any real heat to their words. Just lazy, weak aggravation.  
  
"And where is your air conditioner?!"


End file.
